01/19 Open Thread- Artist as Outlaw Day

Wow, somebody came up with Artist as Outlaw Day. As a much younger person I took an aesthetics course, and the final, which I aced, was to write an essay on what is art. I must confess that I entirely missed the outlaw linkage, though I did, iirc, mention counter-predictability. Art cannot be defined or explained, otherwise it would not be art, and, in fact, artists very much can be, have been and are "outlaws". I know that at times various sects have considered (some) art to be magic, wicked, sinful, evil, witchcraft and more, so there you have it. BUT, one can't be sure if that speaks more to the nature of art or to the nature of religion. Both are, after all, grounded in the irrational. One can take vast quantities of photographs, some will, by chance alone, be art, or at least artistic, but that is, except for errors and failures, not the product of the camera, but of the photographer, the viewer, the universe, or some or all of the above.

Now, The Outlaw element. Walking through certain office buildings, motels, hotels, conference ceenters and what have you one often finds graphics of avrious types along corridols, on walls, in rooms and the like. Sometimes one will strike you, there is some sort of "WOW" effect, something akin to a Zen Koan or great Haiku striking home, an expression of that which is that such that it is that, Tathegata, and the like. There is some immediate, as in not mediated, transfer of something, as awareness about one's self or the universe or some element thereof that simply happens beyond the realm of ordinary communication, or perhaps something that makes you wonder, cogitate, or ponder in some way about something. That moment, that event, is a form of outlawry, communication outside of the established parameters and methods, something outside the pale and hence violative of that je ne sais quoi that makes all cultures seek to limit, restrain, control and rein in communication. That is the basis, lowest level violation, from which the outlawry grows and expands.

Not all graffiti is art, but graffiti art is out there and is very real. Most of it is illegal as was its creation. To some extent, more striking because of its illegality. Often a work of art breaks rules or norms, cultural or stylistic, such as movements like impressionism, surrealism, dada, cubism and the like. Part of the impact and cummunicative magic is, no doubt, due to said violations, more outlawry, but of a different type. To the extent that "the medium is the message" the medium is an affront to the narrow minded ideologues, blue noses, bowdlers and the like. In similar vein we have art which openly challenges established idols and ideologies, mores and so-called "morals". Here again we find the violation not necessarily so much a characteristic of the work as of societies' need to suppress, repress, and censor communication which assorted subcultures, sacerdotes, and twisted control freaks who who are driven to try to controll the thoughts, beliefs, and emotional responses of the entire population; to force their particular beliefs and viewpoints upon all of society. Was, for example, HOWL, inherently objectionable before assorted trogdolytes crawled out of their caves and declared it to be so? If somebody plays "the devils chord" (augmented 4th) in the forest and none hear it is it nonetheless disharmonious or ugly, or does the listener make it so? AS our society, or any other, becomes more censorious, outlaw artists and outlaw art should arguably spring forth in the form of endless volumes of samizdat which, if not outlawed at its creation will be shortly after its distribution.

Somewhat off topic, but related, I told chat GPT to "Talk dada to me" and got:

plip plop!
umbrella thinks sideways
the clock sneezes—ACHOO—now it’s Tuesday in a shoe.
words wear hats:
banana = maybe
maybe = trumpet
trumpet = SPLOOSH
I fold a sentence into a pigeon,
the pigeon argues with the color blue,
blue wins by forgetting why.
tick tock, said the fish to the typewriter.
applause! confetti! potatoes!
end begins now.

So, does it pass the Turing test? How could one tell?

It's also National Popcorn Day a really great food group, imho. I have a gadget for nuking it that gives great popcorn using no oil for popping. For grins I used brave's built-in search engine to ask for nutritional content and received the following AI generated contend:

One cup of air-popped popcorn contains approximately 31 calories.The macronutrient breakdown is about 77–82% carbohydrates, 10–13% protein, and 10% fat. It provides 6.2–6.3 grams of total carbohydrates, including 1.1–1.2 grams of dietary fiber, and contains minimal fat (0.3–0.36 grams) and no cholesterol.This makes it a low-calorie, high-fiber snack that can support satiety and weight management when consumed in moderation.

I have yet to discover the perfect wine pairing, so I fall back on zinfandel; anybody with a better idea please speak up.

On this day in history:

379 – Emperor Gratian elevated Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gave him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Theodosius would later come to rule all of Rome and declare Nicene Christianity to be the official religion of the Empire.

649 – The forces of Kucha, a vassal Kingdom of the Western Turkic Kaganate, surrendered after a forty-day siege led by Tang dynasty general Ashina She'er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.

1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay.

1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crossed the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru, but without any elephants.

1829 – The First Part of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust premiered

1853 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore Premiered

1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires began service at Roselle, New Jersey.

1915 – Georges Claude patented the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.

1915 – German zeppelins bombed the towns of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the UK killing at least 20 people, the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target. We sure have come a long way since those days.

1920 – The United States Senate voted against joining the League of Nations.

1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union was founded.

1937 – Howard Hughes set a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in seven hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.

1942 – The Japanese conquest of Burma began

1945 – Soviet forces liberated the Łódź Ghetto. Less than 900 of over 200,000 residents had survived the NAZI occupation.

1946 – General Douglas MacArthur established the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.

1960 – Japan and the US signed the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty

1966 – Indira Gandhi became India's first female prime minister.

1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany left VW's plant in Emden.

1981 – US and Iranian officials signed an agreement to release 52 US hostages

1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia joined the United Nations.

2007 – Four-man Team N2i, using only skis and kites, completed a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1965 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.

2012 – The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload was shut down by the FBI. This astion and the subsequent (ongoing) attempt to prosecute Kim Dotcom under a variety of novel legal theories remain controversial for a variety of reasons. A brief intro to the matter can be found in the wikiipedia artile on Megaupload

2025 – Bytedance and sister companies were banned from the US for "security concerns".

Some people who were born on this day:

Ideas govern the world, or throw it into chaos.

~~ Auguste Comte

1736 – James Watt, chemist and engineer
1798 – Auguste Comte, French economist, sociologist, and philosopher
1803 – Sarah Helen Whitman, poet, essayist, and romantic interest of Edgar Allan Poe
1808 – Lysander Spooner, philosopher and author
1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, short story writer, poet, and critic
1813 – Henry Bessemer, engineer and businessman
1839 – Paul Cézanne, painter
1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, astronomer and academic
1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, pianist and educator
1908 – Ish Kabibble, comedian and cornet player
1921 – Patricia Highsmith, novelist and short story writer
1923 – Bob McFadden, singer, impressionist, and voice-over actor
1923 – Jean Stapleton, actress and singer
1930 – Tippi Hedren, model, actress, bird fancier, and animal rights-welfare activist
1932 – Russ Hamilton, singer, songwriter
1935 – Johnny O'Keefe, singer, songwriter
1936 – Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, singer, harmonica player, and drummer
1937 – John Lions, computer scientist and academic
1939 – Phil Everly, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1940 – Denise Narcisse-Mair, musician
1943 – Janis Joplin, singer and songwriter
1944 – Shelley Fabares, actress and singer
1945 – Trevor Williams, singer, songwriter, and bass player
1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress[30]
1947 – Rod Evans, singer, songwriter
1948 – Nancy Lynch, computer scientist and academic
1949 – Robert Palmer, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1951 – Martha Davis, singer
1952 – Dewey Bunnell, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1952 – Bruce Jay Nelson, computer scientist
1956 – Carman, singer, songwriter, actor, and television host
1959 – Danese Cooper, computer scientist and programmer
1959 – Jeff Pilson, bass player, songwriter, and actor
1964 – Ricardo Arjona, singer, songwriter ,and basketball player
1966 – Lena Philipsson, singer and songwriter
1968 – Whitfield Crane, singer and songwriter
1969 – Trey Lorenz, singer, songwriter, and producer
1971 – John Wozniak, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1973 – Antero Manninen, cellist
1982 – Robin tom Rink, singer and songwriter
1983 – Hikaru Utada, singer, songwriter, and producer

Some people who died on this day:

The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedoms.

~~ William O Douglas

1636 – Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, painter
1729 – William Congreve, playwright and poet
1755 – Jean-Pierre Christin, physicist, mathematician, and astronomer
1833 – Ferdinand Hérold, pianist and composer
1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, philosopher and politician
1869 – Carl Reichenbach, chemist and philosopher
1915 – Ernest de Munck, cellist and composer
1972 – Michael Rabin, violinist
1980 – William O. Douglas, lawyer and jurist
1990 – Alberto Semprini, pianist, composer, and conductor
1995 – Gene MacLellan, singer, songwriter
1998 – Carl Perkins, singer, songwriter. and guitarist
2000 – Hedy Lamarr, actress, singer, and mathematician
2006 – Wilson Pickett, singer, songwriter
2007 – Denny Doherty, singer and songwriter
2008 – John Stewart, singer, songwriter, and guitarist (born 1939)
2012 – Winston Riley, singer, songwriter, and producer

Nota Bene:

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such a twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air - however slight - lest we become unwitting victims of darkness.

~~ William O Douglas

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Artist as Outlaw Day
National Popcorn Day
Confederate Heroes Day (Texas)
Robert E. Lee Day (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi)

Today's Tunes

National Popcorn Day

Magda Tagliaferro,

Tippi Hedren

Johnny O'Keefe

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith

Phil Everly

Janis Joplin

Shelley Fabares

Dolly Parton

Rod Evans

Martha Davis

Dewey Bunnell

Alberto Semprini,

Gene MacLellan,

Carl Perkins

Wilson Pickett

Denny Doherty

John Stewart,

Also wrote

did this

& was one of these guys

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. What's on your mind?

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com

open thread, Artist As Outlaw, Emperor Theodosius, ACLU, Megaupload, ByetDance, Janis Joplin, Wilson Pickett, Poe, Cezanne, Dolly Parton, William O Douglas, Phil Everly